


Touch of the Devil

by hongism



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Biting, Blow Jobs, Bottom Park Seonghwa, Choking, Come Eating, Come Swallowing, Comeplay, Creampie, Demons, Dom/sub, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, Explicit Sexual Content, Fantasy, Hand Jobs, Heavy Angst, M/M, Marking, More smut tags for sure, No Fluff, Oral Sex, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Porn With Plot, Rimming, Rough Kissing, Rough Oral Sex, Rough Sex, Shameless Smut, Slow Burn, Smut, Supernatural Elements, Thighs, Top Kim Hongjoong, but each can stand on their own, kinda heavy, mentioned death, more tags to come, thigh fucking, underlying plot throughout all the parts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-15 18:20:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28942848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hongism/pseuds/hongism
Summary: everyone desires something. whether it's passion, power, grace, wealth, eternity - people always will go to great lengths to get the things they want. and when someone offers an exchange, something of a trade, people are always so quick to give the things they thought they would never lose.akahongjoong is the king of the underworld and grants wishes in return for servitude in the afterlife, but seven humans somehow make it very difficult for him to do his job.
Relationships: Choi Jongho/Kim Hongjoong, Choi San/Kim Hongjoong, Jeong Yunho/Kim Hongjoong, Jung Wooyoung/Kim Hongjoong, Kang Yeosang/Kim Hongjoong, Kim Hongjoong/Everyone, Kim Hongjoong/Park Seonghwa, Kim Hongjoong/Song Mingi
Comments: 6
Kudos: 84





	Touch of the Devil

Everything about the air around Seonghwa is heady and thick in a way that chokes him as he steps through the fogged bar. This isn’t his sort of scene – not one he would typically find himself frequenting on a Friday evening without even so much as the company of a friend – and yet here he stands with hands pressed into the pockets of his black leather jacket. There remains a dull thrum in the atmosphere of the club, a steady rhythm of bass and vibrations that makes his ears ring but the man does his best to ignore it in favor of reaching the bartender.

“Just a rum and coke please,” Seonghwa murmurs, hand sneaking out of his pocket to lay a few bills flat against the wood counter. He tugs his ID card out as well and flashes it in the man’s direction when he raises an eyebrow at the young man, but upon seeing it, he relents and steps away from the counter to get the drink.

The question remains of why exactly Seonghwa finds himself in such a dismal and hopeless scene full of people too drunk off their rockers to even fumble around the bar with some sense of dignity. He, who is neither dismal or hopeless himself nor is he drunk in the slightest (at least not yet).

The answer is simple. This is a breeding ground, a festering cesspool of desires and greed, and it is the prime place to find what Seonghwa is looking for in terms of deals with the devil. Maybe not one specific devil, but certainly whatever demon he can get his hands on tonight. And he has quite the lot to choose from it seems, because as he glances around the neon-lit building, the young man spots many pairs of red eyes glinting under the lights. He knows deep down that he has no right to be picky — any and all of them will get the job done — but Seonghwa can’t help but to note that none of them are as appealing as he imagined they would be. When his friend said that these demons thrived off of lust and appeal, he figured that meant they would purposefully up the ante in terms of physical appearances.

The disdain must show on his features as the bartender begins to speak again as he sets Seonghwa’s drink down on the counter.

“None of them are for you,” he utters, and Seonghwa twists back to look him in the eye.

“What do you mean?” He inquires, chin tilting to the side in question, and the man huffs out a small laugh.

“They have their prey already. Picked ‘em the second they walked through the door. All it takes is one look to figure out what these needy people crave from them, what appearances they need to take, what voices to use, what outfits to wear. For people like you, though, something more is required before the real games begin.” He points a single bony finger at Seonghwa’s face, staring the younger man down over the length of his digit like it’s the barrel of a gun, and that has Seonghwa shifting in his seat a bit.

“Something… more?”

“One must have a particular level of certainty before coming to make a deal with a demon, sir. But you — you don’t seem to truly know what it is you want. And for that reason, the King will see you with no ruses or deception.”

_ On the contrary, I wouldn’t have dared set foot in here if I didn’t know what it is I wanted _ , Seonghwa wants to say. However, his attention is held rapt by the final sentence, the one that held unspoken promise to it.

“And by that you mean physical alterations?”

“You catch on quickly, boy.” The man leans forward, tongue darting out to swipe over his lower lip, and Seonghwa glances over the motion only once before pushing away from the counter. The bartender notes the slight annoyance in his features a moment later. “The King will like you quite a bit.”

“When can I expect for this ‘King’ to present himself?” Seonghwa props an elbow up on the counter and gives one last forlorn glance around the bar in the hopes that someone will come over his way, but it’s to no avail.

“Patience, human. The show hasn’t even begun yet.” He motions towards the middle of the bar, the starkly empty space with a glossy stage set in the center with only a microphone held delicately in its stand and nothing else. Seonghwa had been hoping to make this a speedy trip — a quick in and out with the deal made and nothing else — but it seems he won’t be having that luxury. And it is a bit frustrating, honestly, to come to this place with the expectation of having a demon cater to him and his wants only to be told that he isn’t  _ certain enough _ for these supernatural beings, so he will have to wait on a demon who won’t cater to him or come to him immediately.

Seonghwa takes a quick swig of his alcohol with the desperate hope that perhaps drinking will make him more certain of what he wants, although he already knows it won’t. The bartender offers a shrug in response to the younger’s annoyance then pulls away to tend to other customers, and Seonghwa takes it as an invitation to swivel in the stool and face the stage. It’s still fucking empty, but at least it gives him a better view than the old wood of the counter that now sits under his elbows.

“Leave it to men to make me wait on them, demon or not,” he mutters under his breath, fogging the side of his glass a bit.

Seonghwa nearly chokes on the liquid inside in his next breath because the swirling red neon lights come to a halt on the center of the stage, and the suddenness of the shifting lights startles him so much that he has to sit up straight and inhale deeply to keep from coughing on the alcohol in his mouth. The hazed mist hovering above the floor of the bar seems to swirl towards the stage under the beams of light. He watches the movements as though in a trance, slowly leaning forward until his elbows come to rest on his knees. Out of everyone in the bar, he seems to be the only one interested in what’s going on at the center of the room. Mind you, everyone else is preoccupied: demons with their humans, and humans with the mask-wearing demons who cater to their desires. And while Seonghwa has no reason to be so intrigued by the scene before him, he truly cannot bring himself to look away, especially as the dull thrum of music in the bar heightens and gains momentum.

There is no way of describing the sounds rumbling around him. Perhaps if Seonghwa were fully in his senses, he would be able to distinguish the instruments and beats of the song, but the bass clogs his mind and leaves him squinting at the hazy stage. It could be poetic, the way a lone figure pushes his way through the crowds of the bar like he holds all the power in the universe, studded black leather jacket slung around his shoulders. And as the red lights come over him, Seonghwa can see his features better. Dusty brown hair that shines a bit, one side exposed and cut shorter than the other, which has bangs that hang loose over the side of his face. Metal bars line both ears, another near the end of his left brow, and a final more intricate one that loops around the middle of his lip and connects to two long metal chains. Seonghwa follows the path of those chains with his eyes, watching them trail downwards until they loop around his chest and disappear behind his jacket. It’s just a black turtleneck that he wears underneath the dramatic leather regalia and chains but somehow he makes the garment look expensive. Seonghwa dares glance a bit lower, just enough to make out the frayed and distressed jeans that cling to his skin like a vice, leaving hints of enticing skin underneath to peek through. He can’t see the musician’s feet thanks to the fog, but he can practically hear his footsteps drumming in his ears with the rise and fall of his shoes.

Simply put, Seonghwa is entranced by the sight of this man — if he can even be called that, because Seonghwa wouldn’t find himself at all surprised should he reveal himself to be a demon on the tail end of this encounter. He barely looks up from the floor on his trek to the stage, only stopping when he comes before the mic stand and exhales against it in a way that sends shivers down Seonghwa’s spine. It’s hardly reasonable for any creature to hold his attention in the palm of his hand the way this one does, but there is no chance of Seonghwa looking away now, especially as his voice begins to drawl through the microphone and coat his ears like honey. There are words, he recognizes enough in the music to know that it should be a song he is familiar with, but none of them truly process in his daze.

It’s all Seonghwa can do to just sit there and watch his performance. Between the gentle sways of his shoulders and hips, the teasing drag of his tongue over his lower lip whenever there is a break in his lyrics, and the overall intoxicating nature his aura exudes, he is hooked on every breath he takes. Seonghwa doesn’t realize how relaxed his body has become under his spell until it’s too late, and that happens to be the last note of the song as well. It is accentuated with the drop of the glass in Seonghwa’s hand and a sharp shatter of the cup against the floor. And just as he inhales a startled gasp and breaks out of his reverie, the demon’s deep crimson eyes flicker over to find his across the bar. Those twisting lips churn something ugly in Seonghwa’s gut. He can’t find the strength in his body to move.

_ “Mine.” _

Seonghwa’s heart leaps in his chest as the word leaves the demon’s lips, and while he can’t hear the way it grates against his ears, the man can clearly read his lips enough to know what he’s saying.

His eyes glint a bit in the darkness. It shouldn’t leave Seonghwa wanting more, but that bitter taste of curiosity is nipping at the back of his throat, and he is far too intrigued to turn back now. He just wants  _ more _ . If he seems to understand that at all from the gleam in Seonghwa’s eyes, he makes good on it, stepping off the stage and letting his hand drag over the mic in a way that is almost tantalizing. Step after step, he comes closer to where Seonghwa sits with his lips still curled into a smirk, and the way the lights hit him makes him seem to glisten and glow in the darkness. Seonghwa doesn’t realize he’s been holding his breath until the demon breaches his personal space. He releases a shaky exhale that seems to fog in the air before him. The demon stretches a hand out to close the space between their two bodies and curls his index finger under Seonghwa’s chin. The touch is simultaneously hot and cold — his whole body seems to light on fire under it, yet at the same time, the chill in his bones deepens to an alarming degree.

“What is it you desire above all other things?” Seonghwa can hear him now, loud and clear, and whilst he had heard his singing beforehand, the simple rasp and lilt to his regular tone is something that has Seonghwa unashamedly weak in the knees. “I can give you everything,” he whispers as he presses closer to the man. Seonghwa’s knees brush against his form but the demon keeps on pushing forward until he’s slotted himself between them. The chain hanging from his lips rattles like a chime, singing its unknown song like church bells in the night, although they are far from God and heaven now. “All you need to do is ask.”

Seonghwa clings to some semblance of reason while he can, knowing full well that it will all leave him soon enough, but for now, it lets him choke out a single statement that has the demon before him laughing under his breath.

“That’s not how it works.”

“And who are you to tell me how it works?” His finger curls a bit harder at Seonghwa’s chin, and he can feel the blunt of the demon’s nail scraping over his skin. Their eyes are glued to each other, so enamored and consumed that Seonghwa can’t even think to look anywhere else.

In that moment, it is as though the universe is nothing but a speck of dust in the corner of Seonghwa’s vision. Something so raw and whole like the demon standing before him is all-powerful and vigilant in a way that has every nerve in his body at full attention, ready for whatever the next step might be. And that turns out to be quite the curveball as it seems because he leans closer to Seonghwa, breath intermingling with his, and Seonghwa subconsciously curves his back into the touch to reach the demon. Still, even though he physically shows how ready and desperate for the touch he is, the demon waits and glances over Seonghwa’s features.

“What is it you desire from me, human?”

Seonghwa has to vehemently restrain himself from simply saying ‘ _ you _ ’ and getting on with it.

“Your name.”

“Is that all you would have from me?” As a demon, it is his life’s work to know the inner-workings of the festering desires of humans. Seonghwa has no doubt in his mind that the demon knows exactly what is it he wants, even if Seonghwa is not sure of it himself, and he does not doubt that this demon won’t use that to his advantage either. But that’s what Seonghwa asked for in coming here, and that is exactly what he both expected and wanted out of this.

Perhaps it is shameful, but just for once, Seonghwa wants to surrender control. Too often is he asked to have everything set out and planned and under control, and too often does he find himself wanting someone to just tell him what it is he should do. That could be why the bartender labeled him as ‘uncertain’ because even in this moment of vulnerability, there is still the thinnest thread of thought tethering Seonghwa to that control. And as of now, he wants nothing more than for this demon before him to break that thread.

“I would have your name before I asked for anything else from you. Calling you demon over and over would certainly wear out its welcome, no?”

“That all depends on the context, my dear. But… you can call me Hongjoong, if that’s suitable to your tongue.”

“Hongjoong,” Seonghwa tries, testing the way the name rolls off his tongue in such a delicate manner that the demon before him flutters his lashes a bit.

“Sounds so pretty coming from lips so innocent.” He tilts his head to the side, and the movement flashes the pretty expanse of skin below his jaw. Seonghwa isn’t shy in the way he lets his gaze slip over it before trailing back up to meet the demon’s eyes again. “Would you close your eyes for me, doll?” He doesn’t have to ask. He could just make Seonghwa do so with no resistance but  _ still _ , he asks as though Seonghwa could say no if he wanted to. Seonghwa doesn’t though, and as such, the young man’s eyelids fall shut and his vision turns to black for the time being. “Do you know who I am?”

“Th-The bartender called you the King.”

“And do you understand what that means? Truly understand with every fiber of your being?” The question is heavy on Seonghwa’s bones, and it is one that he feels like he should know the answer to yet he cannot find any response to his inquiry. Perhaps the demon means to confuse him because Seonghwa hears a soft huff of a laugh fall from his lips. “King of the Underworld, Lord of the Dead. Some would call me Pluto, others Hades, it varies from religion to religion and in every culture. Sometimes I pick up rather banal and common names, other times I find myself seeking something extravagant and luxurious. Now… Hongjoong will be a good middle-ground for us.”

Seonghwa should be falling to the floor in absolute shock due to his words, but the steady finger under his chin keeps him steady. That and the growing fear in his gut as he comes to realize that this demon holds so much power in just his pinky finger and could absolutely crush Seonghwa under his heel whenever he wishes. What is he to a god besides an insignificant fleck of dust on the pavement?

“And what of your appearance? Is that… manifested as well?” Seonghwa dares to ask.

“I have many faces, yes, but this one is one I wear boldly and frequently. You could say it is my natural form. After so many millennia of fantastical myths and legends, however, I’m sure that would seem odd to you.”

“Are you truly a demon then?”

“King of demons, yes. Whether I am truly a demon myself is something that could be ambiguous, I suppose, but if they are all part of my creations, then would that not make me one myself? Though you could say they are all fragments of my own being, making them all mythical gods. It’s all a matter of perspective; however, I doubt that you came searching this place for a lesson on perspectives.”

“No, I came for…” Seonghwa trails off, and that blossoming uncertainty from before presents itself again.

“There are two things your heart wants right now. One, I can give you with ease and grace, only if you would allow it. That desire is a fleeting one, however, and I do not think it is what you are truly after in being here. The second… that is a wish I cannot deliver, and I think you are more than aware of that. The reason everyone left you to me is because of what you want. It is a domain only I could ever touch.”

Seonghwa blinks his eyes open in haste, searching Hongjoong’s deep crimson gaze for some sort of confirmation of the words. The demon dares to look forlorn and lets his stare drop to the floor rather than looking Seonghwa directly in the eye. Confusion blossoms in the human’s gut. Yes, he figured there was a slim chance that his wish could not be granted, but still he clung to the desperate hope that maybe there was just a small window of opportunity for such a wish to be granted.

“Death is irreversible,” the demon, Hongjoong as he wishes to be called, says in a quiet tone. “I cannot give that which you want more than anything else.”

“Then what can you give?” Seonghwa asks, squeezing his eyes shut as tight as possible to keep his emotions from slipping out the corners.

“One of two things: I can give you time to speak with him once more or I can make you forget the pain.”

“And if I choose the latter?”

“It would make you forget everything about him and leave you with no memory of him at all.” Hongjoong exhales a small sigh, the bouncing rhythms of the bass rumbling against Seonghwa’s ears along with the sounds of Hongjoong’s breaths. “You need not decide right this instant. The payment will be the same either way, so we can settle that first if you’d like.”

“W-Wait,” Seonghwa stammers. He dares to open his eyes once more. “How would I be able to speak to him if you can’t bring him back?”

“I cannot bring him back the way you want. He… he is gone, and though I am the King of the Dead, there are powers even I do not have. Bringing him back to life is impossible, but I can create a doorway for the two of you to speak through for a short period of time. I have no control over how long it would be, just a forewarning. That is all up to him and his willingness to see you.”

“I can’t imagine he wouldn’t want to see me,” Seonghwa murmurs, but the pang in his chest tells him otherwise.

“Sometimes, death and the underworld change fundamental parts of people. They are no longer alive, after all, and as such, those human vices and personality traits dissipate. How you knew him in life could be vastly different than the spirit who now resides in my domain. It is all a matter of weighing risks, my dear. What matters most to you? Remembering him or him remembering you?”

“So if I ask to see him, I would remember him but there’s a chance that he would have no recollection of me? And should I ask to forget, there will be no way of knowing whether he remembers me in the afterlife or not?”

“Precisely.”

That is a hefty bargain to weigh. It is almost too much for Seonghwa’s shoulders just to think about it. One is starkly more selfish than the other, but if he’s dead, what good will selflessness do Seonghwa? It won’t bring him back, that’s for sure. Either he is left with the painful realization that he does not have any memory of Seonghwa in the afterlife, or Seonghwa forgets it all to avoid that pain. Maybe thinking about the payment before deciding would be a good idea after all.

“As for the payment? How many years do I owe you?” Demons have no use for human currency or trinkets that could be traded for favors. Seonghwa can barter the only thing he has — years of life. Whether it shortens his lifespan or turns him into a personal slave for a certain amount of time, that is a price he must be willing to pay for such services. He is more than prepared to barter it all off right now if need be.

“None,” Hongjoong answers coolly, and Seonghwa quirks a brow upwards at the nonchalance in his tone. “I do not deal in years of life. Not often, at least. My abilities are bound in… passion. Lovemaking, fornication, sex, fucking – whatever you wish to call it. Of course, it wouldn’t have to be that exactly, should you not desire that. The other option is a blood pact, a ritual that would take hours to complete, although both could take quite some time depending on your stamina.” There’s a breath of silence that allows Hongjoong’s lips to twist into a suggestive grin, and heat brushes the base of Seonghwa’s neck as he fights off waves of embarrassment. “I cannot guarantee that the blood pact would be painless. With sex, I could at least provide some comfort that the pain would only be temporary; however, the choice is yours. Both are binding and would mean that you could never make a deal with another demon again, and you would be marked as mine for eternity.”

“What does being yours entail?”

“Nothing diabolical or unsavory, I promise. Just… when the time comes for you to pass on and join the Underworld, you would take a place at my side.”

“How many people have you laid claim to? Did they all agree to the same terms? How can I trust your word?” The questions tumble from Seonghwa’s lips without relent.

“For what you desire, the cost is far less than what I would usually ask for. Those lucky enough to deal with me in the past paid less for their debts. The blood pact… the fornication… both are binding elements. The real cost is your service. Most have agreed to give me their servitude in the afterlife, all with their own places in my domain. That is what you would be offering as well. You will live just as long as you would without making this deal but make up for it after your death.”

“And that’s it?”

Hongjoong’s eyes twinkle a bit under the lights above the two men’s heads.

“What did you expect from me, doll? Savagery? Unfairness? Everyone deserves a fair price for what they want, regardless of station in life or status in society.”

“Deal,” Seonghwa utters without any more hesitation, blinking up into Hongjoong’s dark orbs. There lies a lingering sense of regret in his gut, one that he cannot chase away no matter how hard he tries, but he doesn’t need to dwell on it any longer.

“And how would you like to bind our deal, my dear? Neither can be handled immediately. The blood pact requires special preparations for the ritual, but the other — I would not have you in such a place as dirty as this.”

“I-I, um, sex will work just fine,” Seonghwa bites out, the skin of his cheek caught between his teeth.

“Then when the time comes that you are ready with your decision on what it is you truly want, all you need to do is take this—” Hongjoong retracts his hand from where it rests gently against the column of Seonghwa’s throat and digs into one of his pockets. He pulls out a gilded card, one that is black and gold with flecks of red across the surface, but there are no other adornments to the material. “Tear it in half and it will bring you to our meeting place, and I will join you there to seal the deal. Should you decide that you do not want this after all, then all you need to do is burn the card. The decision lies in your hands, and yours alone.” Hongjoong has to lift one of Seonghwa’s limp hands and forcefully place the card into his waiting palm, closing his fingers around the man’s to make Seonghwa cling to the item.

“I – th-thank you,” Seonghwa stammers as he blinks from his closed hand to Hongjoong’s features.

“The pleasure is all mine, doll.”

Those are the last words Seonghwa hears from the demon before he slips away, the dense fog lingering in the air swirling up around his body, and within moments, his shadowy form disappears entirely from sight. The air grows cold around Seonghwa once more. He is left with only the fleeting desire for that warmth to return, for him to feel less alone than he is in that moment, and even if it’s the briefest visit ever he just wants one last chance to tell his lost lover how he feels without mistakes this time.

///

The night, as per usual, is cold and unforgiving. It allows for too many opportunities to be alone with lost feelings and thoughts. It has been weeks (if not months) since Seonghwa visited that dingy club and his fateful meeting with none other than the King of the Dead. Yet he is still here, wallowing in the memories that he has been left to suffer with alone, and the gilded black card sits in his nightstand untouched. Seonghwa opens the drawer just to stare at it from time to time, when the nights are particularly rough, and it already had begun collecting a thin layer of dust the last few times he looked at it.

It isn’t that he hasn’t made his decision about what he wants from his deal with Hongjoong. The more terrifying fact is that Seonghwa is fully aware of what it is he wants, and he simply cannot rectify the guilt that comes along with the pure selfishness of his decision. The feeling is so potent that it swarms his every thought. Seonghwa knows it wouldn’t be an issue once he meets with Hongjoong; the demon will take it all away and leave him with nothing. He won’t even know enough to be guilty any longer, but the pain of committing to the decision is strong enough to make him sick to his stomach.

Wooyoung — the one who suggested that Seonghwa go to the club and make the deal in the first place — will not shut up about how worried he is about him.

_ You won’t recall the deal or why you made it, so what’s holding you back? A temporary guilt that won’t exist longer than a few seconds once you’re actually in the demon’s presence?  _

As he said, Seonghwa just needs to swallow the feeling and get on with it. Prolonging the regrets any longer won’t do him any good.

Seonghwa huffs out a quiet laugh in the silence of his darkened room. The black gilded card taunts him again now, gleaming up at him through the shadows with its faint hints of gold and red. Maybe Wooyoung is right and the only way to get rid of missed opportunities is to forget about them entirely. Soobin was but a chapter in Seonghwa’s life, one that is past and gone now, and as Hongjoong said, there is no reversing death. Seeing him one last time won’t give him anything but pain.

Seonghwa stretches a shaky hand towards the card in the drawer. It’s cold to the touch, dust billowing up with even the slightest touch of his fingers. He has to dig his nail under the material to pull it up, and once it’s safely set in his palm, he drags his thumb over the surface to brush the dirt away. No words on the surface, no sign that it has been touched by a demon, and not even a hint as to what it could possibly be for.

It is surprisingly flexible, at least moreso than Seonghwa would have imagined, and he gives it a few testing bends to see how easy it would be to break. Hongjoong simply gave him the instruction to tear it in half and that was all. Seonghwa doesn’t expect him to suddenly materialize before him on a whim, but surely such a creation is bound by some sort of magic on his part. It is hard enough to believe that demons are real living creatures, but magic as well? Maybe Seonghwa has passed on and just don’t realize it yet. Still, he exhales one last huff of air into the darkness before letting his eyes flutter shut. Taking the card between his hands, the young man begins to slowly rip the material until it separates with the force, torn in two mismatched pieces.

Nothing fantastical happens.

That fact alone is so overwhelmingly disappointing that Seonghwa really thinks for a moment that Hongjoong was just some goth rocker in a stoner bar who pulled an elaborate trick on him. It can’t be too difficult to get his hands on some weird red-toned contacts and weave some elaborate story about being the King of Hell. Seonghwa could do that himself. Why did he think Hongjoong was incapable of such a charade?

_ Because he knew what you wanted without you having to say it. _

Yes, well, Wooyoung claimed that Seonghwa’s regrets and grief were evident in his features every time he looked at the other man. Maybe Hongjoong could see it as well.

Seonghwa falls back onto his bed, flattening his back against the mattress with a small shout of frustration. The urge to cry is strong; if he has spent all these weeks uselessly worrying over something that could all be a farce, he doesn’t even know how he would react. He squeezes his eyes shut tight, blinking away the tears that blossom in the corners there as best he can. The rolling emotions in his system distract Seonghwa from the sudden shift in temperature, and before he knows it heat washes over him and fills the void of cold in his body. He jerks but refuses to sit up quite yet, eyes flying open in his shock only to choke on air as a bright golden light fills his vision and swarms him with warmth. The cushion under his body doesn’t feel the same either; it is not Seonghwa’s bed, it’s too plush and soft, too warm under him, and he feels like he is absolutely drowning in the sensation.

Gold flickers above the young man, twinkling lights that glisten like small stars above him, and the ceiling is so dark that he nearly thinks it’s just an opening to the night sky. He sits up in a mad panic. The gold and red decorations littering the far too lavish room barely process in his vision as he looks for a way  _ out _ , and he doesn’t even see the figure coming up along his side until the person is upon him. A hand stretches out to brush over Seonghwa’s forehead. He nearly shrieks in his state of terror, but the sound is all but stolen from his lungs instead.

“It’s only me, doll. You’re safe.”

Hongjoong. Ah, Hongjoong. Then… he was telling the truth. It wasn’t a farce or a deception meant to be a game. He claimed to be the Devil Incarnate, and here he stands before Seonghwa in a room too rich and exquisite for words. Seonghwa can’t find it in him to think he’s lying now.

Seonghwa dares to glance up and meet his gaze, finding it so soft on his face that he has the audacity to blush under the demon’s stare despite the things Seonghwa will be doing with him soon enough.

“Have you made your decision then?” He asks, tone soft and light. It isn’t one that demands an immediate answer. Seonghwa knows he could ask what took him so long to decide, complain about his hesitance, say that Seonghwa kept him waiting for far too long — instead, Hongjoong exudes patience with him, hand slowly combing over his forehead down to Seonghwa’s cheek and brushing over the skin there with a touch so featherlight that he almost doesn't realize it’s there at all.

“I-I have,” Seonghwa whispers like the two of them aren’t the only ones in the room and it’s a secret meant only for their ears.

“What would you have from me first then? As I told you before, the payment is the same regardless of your decision, and as such, we can bind the deal first if you’d rather.”

Seonghwa swallows around nothing. There is no harm in going through with the decision now, but his nerves are so frazzled and out of sorts that he almost desires the sex simply as a means of stress relief. Hongjoong steps in front of him, fully coming into view, and Seonghwa is shocked at how… mundane he looks. He blinks fervently at the man — demon, rather — and take in the gentle part of his hair, the soft glow of his skin that makes him look simply ethereal under this light. He hardly looks like a demon to Seonghwa; his features are too smooth and perfect for that, from the curves of his lips to the even line of his nose. Although Seonghwa supposes that’s all Hongjoong wants him to see, yet it still seems oddly intimate to a certain degree.

“You aren’t worried that I’ll try to run away after my wish is fulfilled?” You ask. Hongjoong arches his brows at Seonghwa, and his neutral expression slips into one of momentary shock.

“Where are you going to go, my dear? I brought you to this place, and you will need me to send you back once we’re done here.”

It sinks in at that moment how Seonghwa is completely at his mercy right now. Not that he has any plans of running away, but the question was moreso just to test the waters, see if Hongjoong is truly as merciful as his features make him out to be. The underlying danger in his tone proves Seonghwa’s point and sends a chill down his spine.

“Is that something I ought to be worried about, doll? Should I claim you now to make sure you keep your end of the bargain?” The question sits on Seonghwa’s ear like warm honey. It chokes him, fills his senses with Hongjoong’s scent, and he almost finds himself leaning into the demon’s curling lips before catching himself. That seems to pique Hongjoong’s interest in the very least, and his smile twists a bit more. “The decision is in your hands as always. I won’t do anything you don’t give me explicit permission to do.”

“Permission granted,” Seonghwa mutters before catching a hand on Hongjoong’s collar. “Do it all.” He isn’t too worried about damaging the demon’s clothes as he’s not wearing anything drastically fancy or expensive-looking, and thus Seonghwa twists his fist into a ball around the fabric of his black tee and yank him down to match Seonghwa’s height. Hongjoong bends at the waist, hands catching on the mattress before his forehead can smack hard against Seonghwa’s. There’s a bit of tension in his neck, and that keeps him far enough back so that he doesn’t kiss the other man quite yet. It’s almost as though he is waiting for something else, eyes carefully tracing Seonghwa’s features with great care before he settles on the human’s lips, and a sharp inhale of breath follows before that thin line in his composure snaps.

Hongjoong’s lips hit his with a surprising amount of force, and the kiss isn’t at all what Seonghwa was expecting — well, to be more accurate, he isn’t quite sure what he was expecting in the first place. It’s much more pleasant than he could have imagined though, and Hongjoong isn’t shy with the touch at all. His tongue is quick to swipe over Seonghwa’s lower lip, hands darting upwards to brush over Seonghwa’s sides before reaching his face, and Hongjoong brings a knee down on the mattress to support his weight as he leans over the other man. Seonghwa follows the motion when Hongjoong pushes forward and lean back until he has no choice but to scoot back on the bed. The demon moves with the same amount of fervor, still pressed to his lips without relent, and Seonghwa doesn’t even think to stop as Hongjoong completely drapes himself over his own body, knees still up and supporting his weight. The cushion of the mattress dips by Seonghwa’s head, a telltale sign that he’s placed his hands there, and Seonghwa uses that as his opportunity to stop for air. Hongjoong surely has no need to breathe like he does since he is undead, but he still pants above Seonghwa, chest heaving as a pretty flush rises to his cheeks.

“Putting that much power in a demon’s hands is dangerous, is it not?” He mutters. Seonghwa lets his lashes flutter shut as the demon moves back to his lips, hot breath searing in the way it cascades over Seonghwa’s face. “Are you sure you want to do that?”

“I’ll tell you if it’s something I don’t like,” Seonghwa murmurs, opening an eye to peek at the demon. Hongjoong meets his gaze with a soft laugh, but the answer Seonghwa provides seems to please him enough to bring his attention back to the man’s lips. Said man inhales as Hongjoong’s tongue breaches his mouth and pushes into the wet cavern inside. There’s no chance for Seonghwa to fight back for any sort of dominance because the demon only thrusts deeper and coats the inside of his mouth with his taste until Seonghwa can feel his tongue brushing over his own palate. A quiet moan reverberates through his throat and against Hongjoong’s lips. Seonghwa feels the barest hint of a smile in the kiss, then his lips are suddenly gone from Hongjoong’s. He gasps for air with the freedom. Heat pools in the depths of his gut, a pleasant one that leaves him wanting more and makes his cock twitch in the confirms his underwear, and Seonghwa isn’t sure if it’s simply been so long since he last had sex or if Hongjoong truly has that effect over him.

Hongjoong returns to touching his body a moment later, hands trailing to the row of buttons on Seonghwa’s nightshirt, and one by one, he pulls them apart until the material is barely clinging to his skin. Seonghwa wants to feel somewhat ashamed at the lack of clothes on his body — he only had on that nightshirt and a thin set of black underwear when he tore the calling card. Hongjoong distracts him though, and his lips replace his fingers then. First at Seonghwa’s jaw placing a wet trail of kisses and soft nips that leave him with goosebumps. Then he reaches the midpoint of Seonghwa’s sternum and rests the flat of his tongue there, tasting and teasing the skin until Seonghwa can do nothing but writhe under him because he is taking so damn  _ long _ . His impatience is laughable to the demon, as evidenced by the quiet huff of air that leaves Hongjoong next.

“I want to taste every inch of you,” he mumbles against the skin of Seonghwa’s stomach, hands pulling the nightshirt away to expose more of the skin underneath. It reveals the clean line abs hiding beneath the shirt. He makes good on his words, and that damn tongue traces lower and lower until he reaches the band of Seonghwa’s underwear. Seonghwa instinctively dart a hand down to tangle in his hair. “F- _ Fuck _ .” The curse slips out when he give an accidental tug to the hair close to the demon’s nape, and Seonghwa nearly thinks that he has hurt the other in some manner until he catches sight of the blissed-out expression on Hongjoong’s features.

_ Oh _ .

“D-Do you — can I…?” Seonghwa gets a bit too nervous to close out the question, a bit of shyness slipping into his bones.

“Do it harder while I eat you out,” Hongjoong growls in response. His fingers close hard around the remainders of Seonghwa’s clothes, and the man doesn’t even have time to nod before Hongjoong is yanking his underwear down in one fell swoop. It leaves him more than a little exposed — Seonghwa is suddenly nearly nude before the demon who is still fully clothed, and that realization draws his thighs tight together in a sudden rush of embarrassment. It doesn’t do much to conceal the not-so-small length of his cock, nor does it hide the way his cock twitches against the vee of his abdomen. Seonghwa swallows hard around nothing, eyes darting away from Hongjoong’s prying gaze.

All of a sudden, Hongjoong shrugs the hand off his hair and sits back on his heels. Seonghwa doesn’t quite understand what his reasoning is until he settles his eyes back on the demon’s body. He has leaned back to start stripping layers of clothes off in a rush, hands fumbling and struggling to pull them away in an orderly manner. There is no composure to his actions, only a hastened fervor that has him tossing his shoes far from the bed along with random articles of clothes until he’s laid fully bare before Seonghwa. Seonghwa really tries his hardest not to glance down at his… you know, but the urge is overwhelming. Before he can even catch a glimpse, however, Hongjoong is on him again, hands latched around Seonghwa’s muscled thighs, and he pulls Seonghwa to the edge of the bed as he kneels before the man on the floor. The sudden movement elicits a gasp from Seonghwa’s lips in surprise, and that noise is broken off into a startled moan when Hongjoong traces the tip of his tongue over Seonghwa’s leaking tip.

“O-Oh  _ god _ ,” he gasps out. Hongjoong’s tongue gives a long and dragging pull down to his balls, teasing with a few small tugs to the skin there.

“Far from it actually,” Hongjoong replies as he presses a kiss to the base of Seonghwa’s cock. A cheeky grin eats away at his features, but it quickly disappears as he returns his focus to Seonghwa’s cock. Seonghwa lets his hand find its way back down to the demon’s hair once more and tugs hard at the strands. Each tweak of his tongue over the length of his cock has Seonghwa’s legs jerking a bit, and Hongjoong has to tighten his grip on Seonghwa’s thighs to keep the man from moving so much under his touch.

“I’m not — I w-won’t last, pl-please, I–” Seonghwa can’t even finish the sentence as Hongjoong pulls up to swallow him whole, dropping the entirety of his mouth over his cock. A laugh leaves Hongjoong’s lips and reverberates around Seonghwa so hard that it has the man seeing stars for several seconds. Hongjoong builds up a pretty pace like that; he bobs his head along Seonghwa’s length, pausing to twirl his tongue a bit around the tip and teasing his slit. He repeats the same motion, again and again, brings Seonghwa right to the precipice of an orgasm only to tear the man back down from it with soft kisses pressed to his cockhead. Seonghwa can’t keep track of how many times Hongjoong repeats that process, but it is more than enough to have Seonghwa trembling from exhaustion and desperation even though he hasn’t even been able to come yet.

“Are you going to beg for it, doll?” Hongjoong hums after what feels like hours of pleasurable torture. “I promised to make you feel good, did I not? You just have to tell me what you want.” His words are so taunting that it burns Seonghwa with embarrassment. The need for that orgasm hangs on every nerve ending of the man’s body, and he could cry just out of the need to come.

“ _ Please _ ,” Seonghwa whispers in a tone broken from constant moans and cries.

“Be more specific.” It’s so cruel. Hongjoong dangles the promise of pleasure before his eyes again, this time kissing ever so gently down the length of Seonghwa’s cock, and Seonghwa really does cry this time, fingers digging harshly on his scalp. That draws a prolonged growl from Hongjoong’s lips, and it reverberates against his cock so nicely that Seonghwa could come from that. Hongjoong pulls his head back too soon though and the sensation is dashed away.

“N-No, no, please. P-Please, Hongjoong, I — please let me come. I  _ need _ it, I need it so badly. Shit, just – just please let me come,” he wails as tears slip out the corners of his eyes and spill onto the sheets under his face. That’s the breaking point for Hongjoong as well, or so it would seem, because the next time his mouth engulfs Seonghwa’s cock, he doesn’t relent. Seonghwa comes undone on his tongue, riding out the waves of his intense orgasm as he fucks his member into Hongjoong’s mouth with erratic and broken thrusts. Hongjoong won’t stop chuckling either — a low noise that just prolongs the pleasure and makes Seonghwa quiver from overstimulation. He isn’t even coming any longer; Hongjoong has nearly sucked him completely dry at this point. He doesn’t let up until a dry and choked sob pushes past Seonghwa’s lips.

Suddenly Hongjoong is back up on the bed, bent over Seonghwa’s body to be eye to eye with him. The demon’s fingers trace over his wet cheeks then clasp hard around Seonghwa’s jaw.

“Too much?”

“N-No,” he stammers through the wet cries. “So good.  _ So _ so good. Never — fuck, never fe-felt so good.”

“Mm, can you take my cock too, doll?” He all but purrs the words against Seonghwa’s skin. “Or would you rather fuck me instead? I bet you’d be so pretty and pliant under me as I ride you, hm? Or coming undone on my cock so you can see your own pretty dick bouncing against your stomach? Which do you want, darling?” Seonghwa is still recovering from his first intense orgasm, and it’ll take several minutes for him to even get slightly hard again, but the words coming from Hongjoong’s lips cause arousal to twist in his gut. Hongjoong’s soft and trailing kisses return to his skin, peppering the line of his jaw just past where the demon’s fingers lie.

“Yes, please, I c-can. Please. I want i-it all. Want your cock in me please.” Seonghwa never thought he could sound so overwhelmingly desperate, but the tumbling sensation that swerves through his stomach as Hongjoong’s demeanor shifts has him falling into absolute shambles. “I’ll take your cock so well,” he whimpers.

Hongjoong purrs into the curve of his neck then slides his way back down to Seonghwa’s crotch.

“Can I open your pretty hole up with my tongue first?” The demon tilts his head to the side as he speaks, layers upon layers of sultriness on his tongue, and he doesn’t let up even for a second as he blinks up at Seonghwa from between his legs. How could Seonghwa say not to anything like that?

“Please,” Seonghwa whispers back. Hongjoong startles him by pulling away rather than going straight for his hole, and Seonghwa watches with wary eyes as the man slips over to the side table by the bed. The demon fumbles around in it for several seconds before pulling back with something new in his grasp. Based on the click of plastic, it must be lube, but Hongjoong doesn’t use it right away. Instead, he drops it on the bed and comes back to spread Seonghwa’s legs further apart. The flat of his tongue drags over Seonghwa’s puckered hole. Seonghwa tenses under him, equal parts surprised and aroused as the demon under him continues the motion.

“You taste delightful, darling. I could have you like this all night,” Hongjoong growls. Seonghwa writhes a bit, losing himself in the sensation, and Hongjoong gently thrusts his tongue into the tight ring of his hole. he can’t keep from grabbing hard at Hongjoong’s hair, tugging the strands hard to elicit a pretty moan from the demon. A finger joins his tongue. Seonghwa cries out a bit, feeling overwhelmed already from the sensation, and he barely processes how Hongjoong slips a hand down to grab the lube once more. This time he squirts some out onto his hand before bringing that same hand back to join his tongue. He either doesn’t mind the taste or the lube is flavored because he fucks a single finger in alongside his tongue.

“S-Shit, Hongjoong, pl-please,” Seonghwa whimpers. He yanks a bit harder at the demon’s hair just to feel him moan against his hole. The sensation is so delightful that it brings Seonghwa’s cock back to a half-hard state again, and Hongjoong responds to the twitch of his dick by pressing a second finger into his tight heat.

“You sound so pretty when you moan, doll. Keep moaning for me and saying my name like that.”

“H-Hongjoong,” Seonghwa whispers in response, lashes fluttering as he looks down at the demon. Hongjoong laughs a little at the desperation in his tone. His fingers scissor a bit and spread Seonghwa’s hole as wide as he can without pain. Hongjoong fucks his tongue in between that small space like his life depends on it, and Seonghwa nearly believes that it truly does thanks to the passion he’s putting into the motion. Hongjoong’s hands are a bit smaller than Seonghwa’s as it turns out though, and he can’t quite reach that blessed spot Seonghwa is craving for him to hit so badly. That certainly doesn’t keep him from putting his all into the way he fucks Seonghwa open, preparing him for something larger and longer than a few fingers.

Seonghwa doesn’t wait long in that position; he is already desperate enough as it is, and having Hongjoong deprive him any longer will probably just send him careening into madness. He reaches down to slip his fingers about Hongjoong’s wrist, pulling the demon’s fingers to a halt in him, and Hongjoong snaps his head up to look Seonghwa in the eye.

“Ple-please fuck me, I’m — I need you.”

Hongjoong all but purrs against the inside of his thigh when he hears the desperation in Seonghwa’s tone, tongue lapping at the skin near his mouth with a twisting smile that promises more. Seonghwa pants like there isn’t nearly enough oxygen in the universe to keep him breathing. Hongjoong slips away from the spot between his thighs and brings himself up to be eye level with Seonghwa once more. Their lips meet for a few brief moments, small kisses before Hongjoong’s demeanor morphs into something different, something rougher.

He shifts their position, pushing Seonghwa up higher to rest against the pillows, and Seonghwa starts to drape his legs around the demon’s waist. That must not be the position he had in mind though, because his hand clamps down hard on one of Seonghwa’s calves and pushes it to the top of his shoulder. Before Seonghwa can even blink, Hongjoong does the same with his other leg, effectively folding him in half and into a position he wasn’t even aware that his lanky body was capable of. That shock is momentary as Seonghwa feels the tip of what must Hongjoong’s cock rubbing over his fluttering hole. He can’t do anything but ball his fists around the sheets under his sweaty body and cling to them like a vice. It’s the only thing that can prepare him for Hongjoong’s girth; the stretch may not be as much as he thought it would be, but it still stings like a  _ bitch _ even after the demon bottoms out in him. That pain must be showing on Seonghwa’s features – in the way his brows are tightly knit together and his eyes are screwed shut so that excess tears from earlier slip out.

The soft caress of lips touches his forehead. It’s so gentle and delicate that Seonghwa nearly misses it in his efforts to grow used to the sensation between his legs, but Hongjoong repeats it time and time again until the man’s breathing steadies and his chest stops heaving as much. It’s only then that he dares to resituate his hips. Seonghwa cracks an eye open to look at him, and it’s abundantly clear that Hongjoong is trying his hardest to hold back and keep from fucking into him with reckless abandon.

“I’m okay now,” Seonghwa whispers, pulling a hand off the bedsheets to brush some loose strands of hair out of Hongjoong’s vision. It is an almost intimate and precious moment, at least until Seonghwa opens his mouth and speaks again. “Please fuck me as hard as you’d like, preferably as hard as possible.” He snakes the same hand around the back of Hongjoong’s neck. When the demon still doesn’t move, Seonghwa offers a sharp tug to the hair that falls over his sweat-slick nape, remembering how effective that move was earlier, and that spurs him into action. Hongjoong’s hips snap roughly against Seonghwa’s, pushing the human’s back further into the crude curve it’s already in. Now that the dull throbbing pain has dissolved into a sensation of pleasure, Seonghwa drowns himself in the drag of Hongjoong’s member inside him. It’s quite possibly the best feeling he’s had all night with the way the tip rubs over his bundle of nerves at just the right angle. Finally, at long last, Hongjoong mercilessly pounds against his prostate, hitting it with every single jerk of his hips, and Seonghwa can’t control any of the noises that tumble from his mouth.

Hongjoong drops his elbows to the pillow under Seonghwa’s head, and the human greets him with a kiss that is just an awkward clash of teeth for the most part. He gains enough composure to shift the angle to one that’s easier for both of them, hips still working hard as he rocks into Seonghwa with the same force and speed as before. Seonghwa is so lost in the euphoria that he doesn’t even feel his next orgasm sneaking up on him, but when it does, it pulls a noiseless scream from his lips. Moans turn into broken stutters of breath, and Hongjoong mouths at the corner of his lips as Seonghwa rides it out the intense sensation. His cock slaps uselessly against the flat of his stomach, cum spilling out over his skin and making a further mess of himself, but Seonghwa is too far gone in the pleasure to even think about how lewd he must look right now. Hongjoong still seems far off from his own high, even as he slows the pulses of his thrusts. Seonghwa claws his way back from the high of his orgasm to grip Hongjoong’s hair tighter and pull the demon closer to him.

“In me. I need you to come in me or not at all,” he demands through a huffed out sigh. It’s a moment of throwing caution to the wind, one that is quite worth it thanks to the expression of hunger and lust that fills Hongjoong’s face.

“You can’t just say things like that, doll,” he growls into the shell of Seonghwa’s ear. Seonghwa tries to laugh but Hongjoong interrupts him with a thrust harsher than any of the ones before. Every sound that falls from Seonghwa’s lips now is stuttered and broken at the seams, and he let Hongjoong fuck him with that same level of passion until he finally seems to tire and lose his rhythm. The only warning Seonghwa has that Hongjoong is about to orgasm is the slight whine to his tone when he moans next. That noise alone is so pretty in the way it’s whimpered that his spent cock has the audacity to twitch one more time. Seonghwa pushes what strength he has left into clenching hard around Hongjoong’s cock, and that is ultimately what tips the demon over the edge and pulls a delightful moan from his lips as he spills into Seonghwa’s tight heat. He releases his hold on the man’s legs, letting them slip away from his shoulders and back into a more comfortable position on the bed, but Hongjoong refuses to move off his body.

Seonghwa isn’t sure how long the two of them stay like that: with Hongjoong continually mouthing small kisses to the underside of his jaw and him just staring blankly at the glittering ceiling with a mind nearly empty. However much time passes doesn’t quite matter because once Seonghwa recovers his senses enough to be coherent again, he recalls what is supposed to come next. Shaky hands find their way to Hongjoong’s arms and trail up to rest atop his back.

“Take it all away,” Seonghwa exhales through a pant, hands clinging desperately to the milky skin of Hongjoong’s shoulders. “I don’t want to remember him anymore.” Hongjoong’s chest heaves against his, and a few loose strands of dark hair fall forward to stick to his sweat-slick forehead. This time when he kisses Seonghwa, it is hot and searing, a brand against his lips, one that burns the inside of the human’s mouth and sets his tongue alight. The sensation slips down the back of his throat, fills his gut, burns him from the inside out, and all his thoughts go hazy under the touch of Hongjoong’s lips. With that one kiss, Hongjoong takes it all away. He gives into Seonghwa’s desires, heeds his wishes, and grants him the ultimate peace and serenity he so deeply craved. Hongjoong continues to cling to Seonghwa like he’s never held something so desperate or lost in his infinite existence. Seonghwa returns the embrace in full while he can, strength already leaving him in the afterglow of their fornication, and he rakes his nails down over Hongjoong’s back if only to leave him with some sort of trophy to leave with. The demon is already leaving with Seonghwa’s memories though, a trophy to hold close to his heart should there ever be a time when Seonghwa asks for them to be returned to him. Perhaps in the man’s afterlife, he’ll ask for them back, and Hongjoong would gladly give them should it be what Seonghwa desires.

That is what he is, after all. As much as he takes, the Demon King of the Underworld gives in return, where he can with what he can. His duty, his bond, the sole purpose for his existence is to maintain that balance between giving and taking. But if it’s for Seonghwa — a creature so lost, dismal, and hopeless — perhaps Hongjoong can tip the scales a bit further in his direction.

At least, that’s what he thinks as Seonghwa curves his body into his and presses his lips to Hongjoong’s with more fervor than before. That maybe, just maybe, endless years of his own hopelessness and confusion were all meant to lead him to finding this: a purpose in his undying life.

**Author's Note:**

> welcome to a new mini series! originally this was going to be a standalone fic but i was brainstorming and came up with a bunch of ideas and thought it would fit well in small series so! here we are! let me know what you think of this first part!


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